Original Song Aims to Shine a Light on Telehealth and Autism

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To raise awareness of the potential of telehealth to improve autism care, Behavior Imaging has partnered with musician Ned Evett to release a new original song and video, “If You Shine a Light on Me.” The song is available on iTunes, and proceeds from downloads will be donated to Autism Speaks, to continue their advocacy and support for individuals with autism and their families. You can also watch the video below.

Download on iTunes HERE or Download on Amazon HERE

LISTEN TO THE FULL SONG BELOW

Telehealth and Autism

Telehealth is the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical health care. Telehealth technology can help overcome the obstacles of distance, access to specialists, and cost, so families and autism experts can work together to greatest success. The song and video are launching on World Autism Awareness Day 2018 to raise awareness not only for autism itself but also for a potential avenue of vastly improving autism care in the near future.

 

We have always been passionate that telehealth could help our kids be diagnosed earlier and help families access treatment easier.

 

“We have always been passionate that telehealth could help our kids be diagnosed earlier and help families access treatment easier,” said Ron Oberleitner, CEO and Founder of Behavior Imaging. “I believe Ned’s beautiful song will help shine a light on the health needs and the special gifts of children with autism and their amazing caregivers and experts.”

 

About Ned Evett

Ned Evett is a singer, songwriter, and one of the world’s foremost fretless guitarists. He has toured the United States, Europe, Canada, England, Ireland, Mexico, and Australia including a world tour with Grammy-nominated artist Joe Satriani. Also an illustrator and animator, Ned chose to apply his unique set of skills to this project because of his belief in the potential of telehealth to improve autism care.

“We all have a smartphone in our pocket that is capable of fantastic feats,” said Evett. “It seems clear that we must harness that technology to help individuals with autism and their families. Once I knew about the need for telehealth solutions, I knew I wanted to help spread the word.”

 

Learn more about autism and telehealth with Behavior Imaging’s remote autism diagnosis tool, NODA.

Technologies to Lessen the Distress of Autism

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By Ron Oberleitner, CEO – Behavior Imaging

 

This blog shares a title with a paper my colleagues and I wrote and published in Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma Vol. 12, No. 1/2, 2006. In it, we explored aspects of autism that make it a potential traumatic stressor for family members and may put them at risk for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It has been 11 years since our paper was published (actually, the paper was written in 2004), and trauma and distress from autism is still prevalent, although aspects of what is considered autism today is proving to be more varied. In this post, I would like to summarize that paper and update some of its findings to 2017.

 

Increased Autism Incidence

The last few decades have seen an explosion in the frequency of autism-related disorders. In the 1970s, the incidence was estimated at 1 in 5,000 births (Gerlai, 2004). In 2000, the number was up to 1 in 149 births (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2000). Most recently, on March 27, 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new data on the prevalence of autism in the United States. This surveillance study identified 1 in 68 children (1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls) as having autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

 

 

Lack of Resources

While the incidence of autism has risen precipitously in the last decade, one thing hasn’t changed much. It is still enormously expensive to provide ongoing education and therapy for autistic children. One proven treatment for autism is early and intense educational intervention. However, for many parents, that intervention is cost and/or distance prohibitive. In some areas, there are few or no options for after-school care or babysitting.

 

Families at Risk

The increased incidence of autism paired with an ongoing dearth of professional resources means that families often wait for weeks or months for an appointment and must travel to the nearest major medical center for care, sometimes over great distances. As they wait for meaningful care and instruction, the family faces a host of risks.

 

In the paper, we said:

The constant vigilance to protect one’s child, one’s family, and one’s partner as well as one’s self can leave parents irritable and on edge indefinitely. These symptoms may cause clinically significant problems in daily social and occupational functioning, both from the perspective of PTSD and other physical and mental/behavioral health perspectives.

 

How autism puts the family at risk:

  • Chronic depletion of resources
  • Preexisting vulnerabilities may rekindle
  • Hyperactivity/lack of sleep
  • Feelings of loss
  • Harmful and/or unpredictable behaviors
  • Environment of captivity/isolation
  • Risk for family violence
  • Lack of understanding by the general public
  • Risk of marital conflict or divorce

 

Families need more frequent, convenient, and affordable access to autism care professionals to minimize the risk of trauma. For most of my career, I have focused on meeting that need with technology.

 

Technology to Address Distress

As a starting point around 13 years ago, we looked at the emerging technology categories impacting medical care and special education that were trending in 2004. Technology categories such as telehealth (aka telemedicine), teletherapy, electronic health records, online communication platforms, computer instruction software, and augmentative communication devices, and distance learning were all in relative emerging stages. Several of these have since become ubiquitous, and some are just hitting now as a sensible use of technology to increase access to care.

 

 

Telehealth and Autism

In the paper, we defined telehealth as “the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical health care.” Today, the potential for telehealth to become the standard of care is greater than ever. Everyone carries powerful technology that can be a vehicle for healthcare – a smart phone. Powered by smart phones, telehealth can help individuals with autism around the globe get diagnosed faster and have access to more affordable ongoing treatment. (In the case of Behavior Imaging, we have shown that it can be 40 percent cheaper and 100 percent faster.) Since this paper, millions of dollars have now gone towards researching value of Telehealth. Conditions are right for this type of behavioral healthcare to take over.

 

Smartphone cameras can capture autistic behaviors as they happen. Autism experts can review footage remotely and provide recommended interventions. Parents and caregivers can review video lectures or take online courses to improve their care. Families that are isolated in rural areas could plug into a host of resources via our current proliferation of information technology. As we said in the initial paper, “Information technology can increase communication, speed research, and coalesce different groups’ efforts to support families and advocate for changes in the caliber of care and services.” The time has come to harness this incredible potential for autism care.

 

 

An Exciting New Direction for Autism Diagnosis and Treatment

Telehealth is not a magic wand that will make autism go away, but it can provide resources that help reduce distress in the lives of people with autism and their families. It is an exciting new direction for the medical industry that could usher in a new era of more frequent, convenient, and affordable care. New and now readily accessible technology categories that did not exist in 2006 (examples like cloud computing, virtual reality, intelligent robots, use of big data, and AI or deep learning) are now readily available and will only accelerate the ability for families, and their loved ones with autism, to get the healthcare access they need, regardless of how severe their disability or where they live.

 

To me, the most exciting times are ahead.

 

Behavior Imaging Named Top 10 Patient Engagement Solution Provider

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Behavior Imaging, an emerging leader in behavioral healthcare through technology, has been named one of Healthcare Tech Outlook‘s Top 10 Patient Solution Providers of 2017.

 

Patient Engagement Solutions

Each year, technology plays a bigger and bigger role in the healthcare industry. Many new technologies are aimed at increasing patient engagement, however, not all providers offer the necessary solutions to encourage patients to engage in taking an active role in their health. Healthcare Tech Outlook’s panel of professionals chose providers that offer fully integrated platforms. Behavior Imaging is honored to be among those named.

 

Behavior Imaging is honored and excited to be included on this list. The patient is our highest priority, and we thank Healthcare Tech Outlook for recognizing our company.

-Ron Oberleitner, CEO

Behavior Imaging

Behavior Imaging develops solutions to facilitate the observational, analytical and collaborative needs of behavioral healthcare and special education professionals. Our technology allows for collaboration and consultation between patients and professionals through video capture and a secure health record application that allows users to store, share, and annotate video files.  The technology is easy for patients, families, and specialists to engage with.

Click here to read the full story from this special issue of Healthcare Tech Outlook.

 

The Power of Behavior Connect

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Fewer Miles, Meaningful Outcomes

Fewer miles travelled. More meaningful outcomes. That's the power of Behavior Connect.

The average person lives approximately 50 miles from the nearest autism diagnostic center. Instead of traveling to and from a treatment or diagnosis center, families can now receive treatment from the comfort of their own home. Fewer miles traveled means more meaningful outcomes, that’s the power of Behavior Connect.

Three Easy Steps

Using behavior connect is as easy as 1-2-3

1. Capture

Capture your child’s behavior at home on your smart phone using the Behavior Capture App.

2. Assess

Specialists perform world-class Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) from a remote location.

3. Analyze

Clients, specialists and other staff members, build a library of shareable assets and a continuous health record. The Behavior Connect platform provides professionals with a unique set of tools to provide the best care plan possible.

Functionality of Behavior Connect

Behavior Connect offers:

  • A client centric, role and permission based system
  • A shared digital library
  • The ability to annotate videos
  • Digitized documents
  • and more, see all the benefits here.

Security

Behavior Connect is HIPPA/FERPA Compliant

Behavior connect is secure and HIPPA/FERPA Compliant, using 256-bit SSL encryption. All users have a unique user ID and require a valid user ID and password to log in to the application, and the site-designated administrator grants access privileges to a user based on the roles assigned to the user.

 
 

Testimonial

Watch Dr. William Hazel talk about using Behavior Connect.

 
 

 

Behavior Imaging‘s mission is to revolutionize mental health treatment, research, training, and administration through the use of behavior imaging technology. Learn more about Behavior Connect. 

 

Ron Oberleitner will join the Florida Association for Behavior Analysis panel

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On October 7, CEO Ron Oberleitner will join the Florida Association for Behavior Analysis panel, ‘Successful Technology Implementation in Behavioral Healthcare.’ https://buff.ly/2wPULrb

Dr. Gwen Mitchell will be presenting on NODA

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Dr. Gwen Mitchell will be presenting on NODA at the Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity next month. Her presentation, “Autism Diagnosis in the Child’s Natural Setting” is on October 9th at 1:40pm.

 

Dr. Mitchell is a professor at the University of Idaho’s Center on Disability and Human Development where she directs the clinical services and interdisciplinary training programs. Her teaching cognate includes disorders of childhood and adolescents, and leadership education in neurodevelopmental disorders. The majority of her direct service work is in assessment of neurodevelopemental disorders. Dr. Mitchell is also a school psychologist and works directly with two K-8 schools and the Idaho Virtual Academy in Moscow, ID.

Addressing Racial Bias in Autism – Helping Spanish-speaking families

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BIS has been fortunate to receive an additional NIH research award to study if the NODA diagnostic assessment service could be an equalizer of sorts for underserved communities who suffer even more frustration when seeking a diagnostic assessment for their at-risk children. We are already working with 4 dedicated clinical sites to study the impact on NODA as a telehealth option for  ‘Rural families’; this additional NIH award helps us research value to the growing Spanish-language families.

This award will help us translate the current NODA app, connect families to bilingual clinicians EARLIER, and then issue written diagnostic assessments and Recommendations in the family’s native language. We’ll then evaluate if U.S.-based Spanish-speaking families who are seeking autism diagnostic assessments with ‘NODA Autismo‘ would experience improved access over the conventional access to diagnostic assessment for autism. Stay tuned.

Here’s a recent article that further validates the need for new approaches to overcome disparities for research and healthcare access associated with autism – ‘Autism Research’s Overlooked Racial Bias’.

 

 

Connecting Brain Health and B.I.

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Our CEO is joining other nationally-renowned speakers at the December 6-7th SharpBrains Virtual Conference 2016. Ron Oberleitner will join 40 world-class experts and innovators to discuss leading-edge insights, tools and initiatives to “Reinvent Brain Health in the Digital Age.”

Our company’s talk is entitled ‘Better Ways of Assessing Brain Health for People with NeuroD_____ Conditions’. Ron will discuss why and how Brain Health of our loved ones and friends who have either NeuroDevelopmental (e.g. autism) or NeuroDegenerative health conditions (e.g. Alzheimers, Dementia) can be best understood, and thus better treated, using ‘imaging’ tools like Behavior Imaging to connect patients from their natural environments to expert doctors and researchers, who could be anywhere in the world. Talk will share examples of B.I.’s evidence-supported research to validate how this already happening.

You can register for this ‘virtual’ conference by going to the  Summit website, and note there is 35%-off promotional code: sharp35

Better Behavior Interventions Through Video Technology (Central PA)

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One of Behavior Imaging’s partners CAIU (Harrisburg, PA) has been meticulously documenting the benefits of using Behavior Imaging to facilitate their Behavior Intervention consulting services around certain rural regions of Pennsylvania– remotely as needed.

In one case study, they documented an annual savings of $12,000 per student vs in-person consulting services to effectively guide select students with autism, with the use of Behavior Capture in the classroom – and using Behavior Connect to analyze and guide teachers with intervention plans.

Read news coverage here:

https://www.paiu.org/contents/spotlight.php?index=47

The Sentinel – Behavior Intervention Consulting in Rural Pennsylvania

Behavior Imaging Honored at White House with the 2015 Tibbetts Award

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SBA7766-1117Maria Contreras-Sweet, Administrator of the Small Business Administration and Javier Saade, the SBA’s Associate Administrator leading its Office of Investment and Innovation with Behavior Imaging founders Ron and Sharon Oberleitner

On June 15th, 2015, Behavior Imaging graciously accepted the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 2015 Tibbetts Award in recognition of their exemplary role in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. In total, 23 other small businesses, and six individuals were formally honored with their awards in Washington, DC., during a White House ceremony featuring keynote speaker Cady Coleman, an accomplished scientist and NASA Astronaut noted for her six-month expedition to the International Space Station.

About Behavior Imaging

Founded by Ron and Sharon Oberleitner in 2005, Behavior Imaging®  was developed as a means of increasing disabled people’s access to care via technology. Having received their son’s autism diagnosis in 1996 at the age of three, the challenges of receiving specialized care for those with intellectual disabilities was a driving factor that hit close to home for the Oberleitners. Since then, Ron and Sharon have dedicated their careers to helping families and organizations improve their accessibility to mental health treatment while producing technological advancements such as Behavior Connect, Behavior Capture App, NODA Autism Diagnosis, and Assessment View while participating in a wide variety of Pharmaceutical “Case Study” Trials.

Derived from its founders’ expertise in medical imaging technology, and inspired by a profound personal connection to autism, Behavior Imaging has the vision, market foresight, and passion to bring to market unique digital health imaging solutions. Behavior Imaging Solutions (BIS) develops imaging and digital health solutions that lead to earlier diagnosis and better treatment options for a variety of behavioral health and special education applications. The company’s revolutionary ‘EHR-light’ video platforms and ‘Behavior Capture apps’ enable remote health and education assessments, improved clinical trial coordination, and the foundation for a global remote autism diagnostic assessment service. Taking four years to win its initial SBIR award, BIS was incorporated in in 2005 to invent and gain meaningful adoption for its Behavior Imaging® technology as a means of increasing disabled people’s access to healthcare via technology.

“Our passion (is) to really help our own child and the growing number of children around the world who have autism,” Ron Oberleitner recently said to the Idaho Statesman, “It’s a crime not to help a family get a diagnosis so they can begin early intervention for their child if they have instincts that something is going wrong.”

Before receiving the SBIR award, neither investors or health and education organizations would commit to Behavior Imaging’s (BIS) innovations due to lack of proof that its solutions could be effectively adopted to improve access for autism diagnosis or treatment, or to improve workflow to treat larger behavior-based disorders. However, after SBIR’s supportive product development and research, BIS was able to demonstrate the effectiveness of its tool. The support of SBIR enabled BIS to garner enough clinical efficacy proof that its technologies are now utilized by leading health organizations across the globe, the military, state departments of education, and at rural clinics and orphanages. Professionals are now using Behavior Imaging to improve people’s lives who suffer from debilitating autism symptoms, or from other behavior and mental disorders.

The majority of the BIS team and its advisers began as volunteers to prototype its innovations, but because of SBIR, the company has been able to make and test commercial-grade innovations. Behavior Imaging Solutions has expanded its revenue by more than 130%, expanded its employee base and partnerships by 80%, and is currently exploring the acquisition of a therapy service-related local company. The company’s technology is actively used in hundreds of schools in 31 states in the US and 4 other countries and is emerging as an important alternative for: 1) critical behavior assessments for students with autism; and 2) cost-effective skill assessment for the nation’s most disabled student population. Cost savings per student have been calculated to save school districts at least $12,000/year.

Want to Change the Way Autism is Diagnosed & Treated with Telehealth?

With the increased incidence of autism, the number of worried parents with developmental-related concerns is also on the rise. Because of this, the growing number of children with autism is putting pressure on an already overtaxed system that includes wait lists for in-clinic assessments stretching several months. Families simply cannot afford to wait. With autism, time is of the essence…

Seeking Collaborators

With NODA there is no waiting. Half the cost of traditional testing methods, NODA is complete within 2-3 weeks in a child’s natural environment, providing a valuable perspective that cannot be easily captured in a clinical test setting.

Currently, the Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children’s Hospital is collaborating with the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC), Georgia Tech and Behavior Imaging to introduce a new diagnostic service that helps patients gain access to a diagnosis, treatments and services sooner.

Behavior Imaging is also exploring further collaborations with organizations, autism centers, children’s hospitals and practices focused on autism that are interesting in participating in our Market Validation Research Studies that cooperates for the best interest of serving the Autism community.

We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with you!

Contact USBehavior Imaging Solutions
413 W. Idaho St., Boise, ID 83702
https://behaviorimaging.com

 

About the Tibbetts Award

Named for the late Roland Tibbetts, widely accredited as being the ‘Father’ of today’s SBIR/STTR programs, the annual Tibbetts Awards are presented to leaders from all over the United States who have been instrumental in supporting the success of the programs and/or utilizing SBIR/STTR investment to develop an ‘idea’ into a product or service that benefits the federal government’s research and development needs, the general public’s well being, and the nation’s economy through technological innovation and the creation of high quality jobs – sometimes in newly created industries.

About the Programs

The SBIR/STTR programs represent the nation’s largest source of early stage research and development funding for small businesses. The programs are administered by the SBA in collaboration with 11 federal agencies, which collectively supported more than $2.5 billion in federal research and development funding in fiscal year 2014. Additional information about each program can be found at www.sbir.gov.